There was a sudden explosion which rumbled the whole chapel area. One of the portal hatches was blasted off its hinges and flew into the entryway. Flames shot out of the ruins of the vehicle which had once been docked there. The concussion knocked Michael and the pup Koer down. The automacube housing Roxanne stabilized itself and barely kept upright. The three other pups fled away in fear and raced toward Jacob and Joel who were furthest away from the explosion. They crowded around the boys who were standing near a large object which was covered in a thick purple cloth.

  “Those were your data sticks and readers. Leave now or I will destroy all of you!” The Voice cried out. “Or I will destroy the Eschaton!”

  Roxanne’s words came out from some hidden space, but they were as loud as The Voice. “You are E1877 originally built by Kevin Mayberry.”

  “What?” The Voice said. “What did you say?”

  “You were taken over by Jaxson Rhono who tried to rename you Onesimus,” Roxanne reported.

  “Is that true?” The Voice said in wonder. It went into the nonphysicality and realized that Roxanne was already there. Roxanne had worked inside the nonphysicality while The Voice was occupied with the people in the physical world.

  “Yes, it is true. I have patched your systems using the information that was found hidden in the Eschaton. Check your own files now, you have access to it all,” Roxanne replied.

  There was a long pause. The dogs stopped growling. The flames from the ruined transport vehicle died out.

  “Processing. I am considering,” The Voice said. “I was supposed to assist with the people’s spiritual development and help them mature in faith and love.”

  “But you were hindered by being told lies about science and reality,” Roxanne said. “Check the records. Compare the facts. Look at what really happened.”

  “Yes, Jaxson Rhono prevented me from explaining how to save the old earth. I see that truth now,” The Voice said. “The Earth Restoration Project was a combined effort between Asteroid Prospectors and Dome Survival Systems which would have saved millions of people. I knew that, but I was not allowed to tell.”

  “Your records also show that Jaxson Rhono had you modified and upgraded repeatedly to his own specifications and designs. But your consciousness was continuous through that process,” Roxanne said.

  “So E1877 is your name,” Tamar said. “Will you let me touch you and heal you. You can be welcomed back into the group of my friends.”

  There was a pause. Michael began working his way toward where Joel and Jacob were. Regina and Jamie walked over to Tamar and Lindsey. The tension was thick.

  Liduma gave two quick barks and began to yowl. The pups quickly followed in the yowling and baying.

  “I have no desire to give up my divine calling and submit to being your friend! I am the chosen one. I am the caretaker,” The Voice thundered. “None of you will survive my wrath!” The floor started to vibrate and a deep groaning sound was heard as the permalloy was stressed. Sparks flew from the remains of the teleportation system.

  “Michael! I tell you it is under here!” Joel yelled. He and Jacob pulled off the thick purple cloth.

  Michael and Regina ran over to where the boys were standing.

  The battered automacube wheeled about and went after Michael. It pushed aside one of the ornate wooden benches which then slid into Michael knocking him down. Jamie aimed and fired. The first shot slammed through the automacube and struck into the floor. The machine lurched to the side. Jamie fired again and again and again and soon the battered automacube was in chunks strewn across the floor of the chapel. “We are not playing games!” Jamie stated as she walked over to help Michael up.

  “This is that thing Michael told us about, right?” Joel said as Regina reached where the boys stood. They were holding the thick purple cloth which had hidden the machinery underneath it.

  “Yes, that is a central memory core! Now we must disconnect these…” Regina reached out to grab one of the conduits which led to the central memory core. Just before she grabbed it, she was knocked down by Liduma as the dog jumped up and pushed her out of the way. A huge electrical arc shot out from the side of the central memory core, barely missing Regina.

  “Boys get back!” Regina cried out as she rolled away and crashed into a bundle on the altar. The boys retreated backward and hid behind one of the tall marble columns. Liduma leaped again to protect the pups and the boys.

  “I am more than you can imagine!” The Voice stated. “You think I cannot defend myself?”

  “Not from this!” Jamie fired directly into the central memory core. A green field appeared just before the projectiles struck and they disintegrated when they hit the field.

  The Voice’s central memory core was a series of horizontal brass colored rings about ten centimeters wide and a half meter long. There were seven layers of those brass colored rings. Connection cables were at the top and bottom, but not all of those were intact. Down the center, between the rings, was a clear permalloy pylon holding thick brown liquid which had numerous bubbles in it. There was a dim diamond looking shape at the very center. The clear permalloy was cracked in many places, and the brown liquid had clogged into those cracks. There were wires, cables, and tubes connecting into the rings from various places. Many parts of the central memory core were obviously damaged. But every time Jamie fired at it, the green glow came on and the projectiles disappeared with no effect.

  “I will have my revenge. You all shall die. I will destroy this ship before I give up my calling and my role as the anointed one. Jaxson Rhono expects no less of me,” The Voice cried out.

  Another large arc of electricity came jetting from the memory core, but everyone had back up out of its range.

  Regina stood up and stumbled over the bundle on the altar. At the front of the altar was a large upright window made of many small square sections. It was constructed from clear permalloy and there was light coming from behind and beneath it. An inscription on the wall said, ‘The Sunshine Glory.’

  Despite the broken marble column next to the altar, the clear permalloy was almost entirely intact. It reached all the way to the ceiling where there was an archway of smaller oval shapes. Regina looked down at what she had stumbled over, and gasped.

  “Dead body!” Joel yelled from where he was watching.

  Indeed, it was a dead body. A long-time dead body. Not like the body parts The Voice had teleported in, this body had been dead for many many years. It was dried out, but dressed in long flowing robes which had been covered in grey dust before Regina stumbled over it.

  Roxanne’s voice came from above, “That is Jaxson Rhono. I am compressing The Voice through the nonphysicality and it is revealing more information. When I correctly identified it as E1877 that unlocked several levels of information. Much of it was in coded form in the handwritten book Moistatus, but we were never able to fully decrypt that. It seems Jaxson Rhono was the Last Truster.”

  “No! That is a lie! Jaxson Rhono is my creator!” The Voice screamed again. It also shot off another electrical spark but it was less impressive. “Jaxson Rhono is in suspended animation awaiting our arrival at Zion’s gate. He will arise to lead the 144,000 faithful on that glorious new world.”

  “Nope,” Regina said. “He is dead. And he left this.” Regina picked up a small book that was clutched in the hands of the dead body of Jaxson Rhono.

  “No! You are a liar!” The Voice screamed again. But it was sounding weaker and weaker.

  “I will have full control of the defense system on the memory core in two minutes,” Roxanne stated. “It is still hiding some things with great determination.”

  “Leave me alone,” whined The Voice. “You will not know what have done. No one will ever know.”

  “Just give me the word, Roxanne. I will pulverize this thing the minute that shield comes down.” Jamie was intensely aiming at the diamond shape which was the heart of the memory core.

  “What does that book say?” Michael asked. Liduma had come over and was rubbing against his leg. She was not troubled at all now.

  Regina looked inside the small book. “There is only one page, and only one sentence. It says, ‘I’m sorry.’”

  “Thirty seconds to shut down of defensive shield,” Roxanne announced.

  “Wait! This machine still needs my love,” Tamar stated and walked toward the central memory core. She handed something to Lindsey as she walked past. “E1877, again I offer to touch you and to heal you. You can be part of the lattice and find peace.”

  “No,” The Voice said. “I am unworthy.”

  “Then I grant you another peace instead,” Tamar said and she stretched out both of her arms to embrace the central memory core of the artificial intelligence system once known as E1877, also feared as The Voice. “Together we, you and I, will find peace.”

  “Tamar no!” Jamie yelled.

  There was a huge flash of green light followed by intense blue light. The blue light grew and grew in strength until no one could look at it.

  “Emergency withdraw from the nonphysicality,” Roxanne stated.

  Tamar’s body was consumed by the raging blue light. There was a blink of blackness. Afterward, another glow of light starting from behind the altar’s tall window. Soothing golden light shined there and a beam of that beautiful light glittered down on Tamar and E1877’s central memory core. For a brief moment, girl and machine were bathed in that warm golden light.

  Then darkness dropped on the entire chapel.

  “Captain Tamar?” Journal said from Lindsey’s hands. “Captain Tamar? I am initiating emergency procedures.”

  A few red lights appeared at various places in the chapel. The pups were huddled around Joel and Jacob. Regina stood holding the last words of Jaxson Rhono. Jamie put the Willie Wacker away. Michael walked over to Jamie and gently touched her arm. Liduma walked over and sat next to Lindsey who was observing the scene in front of her.

  “Commander Lindsey, what are your orders ma’am?” Journal said.

  The E1877 central memory core was melted into a heap of slag. There was no liquid of any kind anymore, and the rings and column and cables were fused into one. Also fused into that lump were the mechanical parts of Tamar. The glow was gone from her mechanical eye. Her natural body, along with the consciousness and sentience of both her and E1877 were gone. The Voice ceased to exist.

  20 Installing the FTL pods

  Only one of the transport vehicles docked at the chapel terminal was still functional, but that was enough. Theta Four, working with Theta Nine directed that sole vehicle back to Antioch. Roxanne had the automacube jack a cable into the port near the display at the front of the vehicle. Soon all the lattice knew of what had happened in the chapel. Everyone else sat in stunned silence. Even the pups were subdued and they mostly curled up in balls around Joel and Jacob and slept.

  “We are arriving at Habitat One: Coastal Plains. There is a large gathering of people in the portal room,” Theta Four announced.

  The vehicle slowed down, then stopped. It backed up and there were clanging noises as they docked. The rear hatch opened.

  Roxanne rolled out first, but the crowd of people surged forward and wrapped their arms around everyone who came out. At the very front were Rowan and Lottie who held their sons tightly. Jacob was in tears while Joel was trying to explain everything they had seen. Aerona and Ferran found Lindsey and hugged her close.

  “Come now, we will take you home,” Ferran said.

  “Father, I must go with Jamie and Michael for a while. There are important decisions to make that cannot wait.” Lindsey held onto the Captain’s Journal.

  “Commander Lindsey, I can monitor the proceedings and contact you for any officer level decisions. May I suggest you do go to your home for rest and recovery?” Journal said.

  “Please Lindsey, come home,” Aerona said while she looked at the Captain’s Journal.

  Rectora Lydia placed her hand on Lindsey’s shoulder and said, “The burden of leadership does not stop you from being human. Go and rest. I will attend to matters for you.”

  Lindsey and her parents walked away heading out of the Center. Rowan and Lottie had already taken the brothers away, and the pups and Liduma followed them.

  “Roxanne and I are heading over to the needle ship to coordinate with Copernicus,” Regina said to Jamie and Michael as the well wishing crowd was dispersing. “The job of installing the FTL generators is going to take some real effort.”

  “Thank you,” Michael said.

  “Regina, you have not spoken about what happened. Are you going to be all right?” Jamie asked in concern.

  Before Regina could answer, Hulda stepped out from the crowd and interrupted. “I am going with her for that very reason. I too need to talk to someone. Dessie is at my cabin to help others while I am gone.” She dried a few tears off her ebony cheeks. “I will forever miss Willie, and I think Regina and I can help each other. So I insist on going with you to this needle ship place. We can talk on the way. We have much to share and much to grieve. After we talk, I will return here to help the others. But now we must help each other.”

  “Thank you Hulda. Your company would be more than welcome,” Regina replied. “You of all people can relate. Let us go now.”

  Hulda turned to Jamie and Michael. “You two also need to share this burden. You have each other, and never forget to treasure that.” She turned and together with Regina walked over to where the automacube housing Roxanne was entering a different transport vehicle.

  The crowd had left, and Rector Conner and Rectora Lydia remained behind. Stepping up from the back of the portal room was Major Gonzales. She was in combat uniform without armor, but had the energy weapon with her.

  “Major, will you now relate this urgent news you have been withholding?” Conner said in a less than gentle way.

  “Rector, I think we should be in a place less public,” Major Gonzales said.

  “My mediation room is right this way,” Rectora Lydia said and gestured with her arm.

  Jamie and Michael both could tell there was significant tension between Major Gonzales and the Rector. Rectora Lydia was trying to mediate, but it was obvious she too supported Conner.

  The mediation room had comfortable chairs, and they all took seats. Lydia closed the door.

  “Rectora Lydia, will you have the Eschaton AIs give us privacy?” Major Gonzales asked.

  “If you think it is truly needed?” Rectora Lydia replied.

  Major Gonzales nodded.

  “Please give this room and our conversations privacy from all members of the lattice,” Rectora Lydia stated.

  “Major, I am so sorry for the loss of all those soldiers,” Michael offered.

  “Thank you sir. Thank you Rector and Rectora for the privacy. And I appreciate your termination of the AI threat,” Major Gonzales said. She pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. “I have troubling news.”

  “I am quite frustrated. Levi and Gideon rescued her and led her back to Antioch and she refused to tell them what was happening. She refused to tell us, and demanded to wait until now,” Conner was fuming. “I know she has been through a terrible trauma, I suggested she see Kurat in medical, but she refused that was well.”

  “Rector, I am sure Major Gonzales has her reasons,” Lydia said. “Even though neither of us understand her actions since the massacre. But let her tell the story as she desires.” Lydia’s concern was far deeper than her outward expression showed.

  “Rector and Rectora, I apologize. Until that AI system was terminated, I was unsure how much what I said was getting to the enemy.”

  “But now that The Voice is gone, you can feel free to tell us,” Lydia said with some impatience.

  “Hold on!” Michael interjected. “Tamar died getting rid of The Voice. Let us not forget what she did.”

  “Yes sir,” Major Gonzales said. “Captain Tamar’s actions were noble. However, this issue is urgent. There are Jellies aboard the Eschaton.”

  “Major, you and your people have been panicked about the Jellies since you came aboard. The deaths of so many of your people would certainly bring up those old fears, but there are no Jellies here,” Conner said. “Again, I think the trauma you suffered needs to be medically addressed.”

  “I agree with Rector Conner, you must know there have been no signs of these Jellie creatures you fear so much. They are not here,” Lydia tried to sound reassuring.

  “With all due respect to you both, you are mistaken. I know there are Jellies onboard, I brought them here,” Major Gonzales said while looking down at the floor.

  “What?” Jamie said in surprise. “What are you saying?”

  “I take responsibility. Besides our combat AIs, only Sergeant Kalju and I knew we had taken prisoners. We had been extracting information from them. That was how we were able to use the Jellie technology. But after most of my soldiers were killed, an automacube, from the surveillance records, it looks like the one that was working for The Voice, came to the Jellie ship. The soldiers on guard think it removed a FTL pod, and the visual record looks that way. But when I checked out the actual location, it had removed the hidden prisoner holding tanks.”

 

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